On the morning of February 26, 1993, Joseph Verl Wellnitz, a 50-year-old veterinarian in Columbia, Kentucky, was found shot to death in his home next to his veterinary clinic. His wife, Elizabeth Beth Wellnitz, 40, and their son, Dennis Wellnitz, 20, were also found slain, each shot multiple times. The triple homicide devastated the small community and remained unsolved for years.

Investigators pursued leads for a decade with no arrests announced until February 2003, when authorities arrested Margaret Anne Meg Wellnitz Appleton, the couple’s 28-year-old daughter, and 30-year-old William Harry Meece in Lexington. Prosecutors accused Appleton and Meece of conspiring to kill the family for more than $500,000 in inheritance and insurance proceeds. Appleton was charged with complicity to murder, complicity to robbery, and complicity to burglary; Meece was charged as the triggerman with three counts of murder, first-degree burglary, and first-degree robbery.

If anyone in the community remembers unusual activity around the Wellnitz home in February 1993 or knew the family well, please share what you know.